Second Privacy Failure? Horne’s Office Publishes Unredacted ESA Letter
Parent identified in ESA release during political attack on AG; families say exposure is becoming a pattern
The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) is facing criticism after publishing an unredacted letter on December 2 that identified a parent in an Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) case, exposing a family’s identity during a public political dispute between state officials.
The document was released by the office of Superintendent Tom Horne as part of a public attack against Attorney General Kris Mayes, accusing the Attorney General’s Office of refusing to pursue criminal prosecution in certain ESA cases.
Horne’s criticism centered on what he characterized as a contradiction: Mayes threatened to sue over the ESA program while, according to him, her office did not pursue prosecution after potential fraud was identified by the Arizona Department of Education.
Horne stated in his memo, “The Attorney General says she is investigating the ESA program over misuse of funds, but she knows perfectly well that the department is not misusing funds. Further, she is being hypocritical because we have referred multiple cases to her office for investigation and she has declined to take the cases.
However, parents who reviewed the document quickly noticed that one of the case letters posted online included the full name of a student’s mother — published without redaction — in connection with an ESA complaint that had been reviewed by the Attorney General’s Office.
The letter from the AG’s Office stated that investigators interviewed the parent and determined that there was insufficient evidence to pursue a criminal investigation. While the child’s name was not included in the letter, parents said publishing an identifiable family member’s name in a school-related case makes the student easily traceable.
The document appeared as part of a blog post published on the Department of Education’s website titled, “Horne: AG Mayes refuses to pursue more than $158K in potential ESA fraud.” The post highlighted examples of purchases allegedly declined for prosecution, including lifestyle items and technical equipment, and accused the Attorney General’s Office of refusing to act.
Multiple parents described the release as “reckless” and said it placed families in unnecessary risk by tying private individuals to a public political fight.
One parent who contacted State 48 News said that she called the ADE but was directed that “the person who made the disclosure” was not in the office so she would have to call back tomorrow.
State 48 News requested comment from Doug Nick, communications director for the Arizona Department of Education, but received no response by publication time.
It remains unclear who authorized publication of the unredacted document, what review occurred before posting, or whether the affected family was contacted after the release.
As of publication, there was no public acknowledgment from Horne’s office regarding the failure to redact the letter, nor confirmation that the document had been corrected or removed.
The Attorney General’s Office has not commented on the privacy implications of the posting, though the office already made its position clear in the published correspondence that criminal prosecution would not be pursued in this matter.
Here is a copy of the letter with the parent’s name redacted.
Not the First Time: Previous Privacy Breach in 2025
12News Headline - August 2025
This is not the first privacy lapse under the ADE during Superintendent Horne’s tenure.
In August 2025, the department acknowledged to media outlets that it had improperly released personally identifiable information about ESA families. The disclosure was described by the agency as a mistake after reporters uncovered the breach.
At the time, department leadership minimized the scope of the breach by stating that only a small percentage of ESA families were affected. However, the release included information that was not intended for public distribution and resulted in private households being associated with participation in a politically sensitive government program.
State Treasurer Kimberly Yee, who is running to unseat Horne, issued a strong rebuke at the time.
Statement from Kimberly Yee on X
Should the previous breach should have prompted stronger safeguards? Does the December 2 release show that meaningful changes were never implemented, despite acknowledged vulnerabilities in how sensitive data is handled? We will follow-up this story if we connect with the ADE’s office.
Parents now question whether meaningful procedural safeguards exist inside the department and whether families can trust the agency to handle sensitive information responsibly when political pressure intensifies.
Parents are now calling for clarification, accountability, and a review of internal procedures to prevent another politically-driven publication from exposing children through family identification.